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Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Time to Say Some "No Thank You"s

John Dellapina in his Blueshirts Blog says the Rangers owe Brendan Shanahan an answer as to whether or not they want to resign Shanahan or not. On that point we agree that the Rangers should tell Shanahan whether or not they want him back next season.

But our response is very clear though and that is to Brendan Shanahan "Thanks but No Thank You" and for us our reasoning is different. If the Rangers are truly going to make the transition from the Jagr led team to one led by Drury and Gomez then they must be the clear leaders of the team.

Now do not get us wrong, a lot of what JD said in his blog is very true as the Rangers do have the space to bring Shanny back, that a few of those already listed on the roster are not going to be on the opening day roster but we see the return of Brendan Shanahan as having one too many "chiefs" and not enough "braves" in the locker room.

We would really hate to add you to the list of "No Thank You"s.

Shanahan is a true leader there is no question about it and at the very same time we have some serious doubts about the ability of either Gomez or Drury to be the leaders of the Rangers but having a Shanahan in the locker room gives both Gomez and Drury a "crutch" to defer to when times are tough.

If Drury and Gomez are going to be the "True" leaders of the Rangers then they must stand front and center when times are tough. They have to be the ones who stand up when the media and fans are demanding answers for the tough times and we are not talking either corny cliches or "smart butted" remarks.

It is time for both Drury and Gomez to start earning those 7 million salaries by being the focal points of the Rangers on and off the ice. Resigning Shanahan would allow both someone to hide behind because Brendan Shanahan will be the one who the media runs to.

It also goes more than being the unoffical Ranger leader as to why to say no; it also has to do with not making any sense to carry a 39 year old 4th liner as you are supposed to use the 4th line to help develop your future not hide your past. That 4th line spot could be used to help wean into his future a Lauri Korpikoski or a Greg Moore or even an Artem Anisimov.

A 4th line Shanahan blocks one young player from development even at a 1 million dollar contract. The Rangers need to also think about tomorrow even as it appears that the roster is about the "today".

No Thank You to More UFA Spending

There is also one very key point that nobody wants to talk about which is saving some money for a 'rainy day' so to speak. If the Rangers spend to the cap limit before the season even gets to training camp then where will they find some money if the team needs to make a trade or 2?

"What If" any of the moves the Rangers just made backfire? If Naslund really is a shell of himself, if Zherdev is the player that the Bluejackets are laughing at Rangers fans for trading for or what if someone makes somebody on the trade market who would be ideal for the Rangers?

You have to have some money left unspent for trading deadline moves or else you will be watching others get players that could cost you down the road a game or even playoff series. As it is we wonder who the Rangers are going to either try to trade or sneak though to Hartford via waivers.

Basically in a nutshell if you have 160 NHL games under your belt and/or you are 25 or older then you can wind up on waivers. If the Rangers have no money left to spend then they will not be able to gamble recalling anyone out of fear of being stuck for half someone's salary due to re-entry waivers if they get claimed by someone else.

Put it another way do you spend every single cent of your paycheck or allowance or do you try to save up for something you like or even need? If so then you understand why the Rangers need to stop spending money now while they can.

No Thanks Freddie

Sorry but 880,000 is way too much to be giving a guy who may have speed but has never lived up to his expectations as a first round draft pick as is the case of Freddie Sjostrom. Why the Rangers are willing to pay that much for a player who had just 2 goals in 18 games with the Rangers period.

When you see that Nigel Dawes signed for close to 600,000 dollars and Dawes was a key performer for the Rangers down the stretch and in the playoffs then sorry just say No to Freddie. 880,000 for a player who's career high has been 23 points in a season (Dawes had 29 in his rookie season despite playing 8 fewer games) is not a smart move cap wise even if Sjostrom is still 25.

To us the final straw had to be hearing that Sjostrom wanted to still negotiate on his contract when considering how the Rangers basically rescued him from the Coyotes possibly saving his NHL career then boy someone has a set of cajones.

As for the Rangers what in the world were you thinking, you got Mara to take a salary cut which was a good move, you got a Kalanin to take a salary cut which is a healthy gamble and you got Vally to sign a 725,000 dollar contract which is a bargain for a backup who is also a great presence in the locker room but yet you lose your savings by this deal?

Sorry let your pal Bardin in Omsk pay Sjostrom that kind of money and put the money towards a player who will be happy to be a Ranger at a good price.

Who is Left to Sign?

Now that the smoke has cleared there remains one last remaining RFA for the Rangers to sign other than Sjostrom and that is Greg Moore who spent most of last season learning how to many different ways one can make the trip between NYC and Hartford.

Moore who had to be qualified at close to the Dawes salary range of 600,000 has not had a word said about from the Rangers so for all we know he already could have been resigned but the Rangers had not announced it yet.

We do not believe that Moore is playing any games here because his options are still non-existent as Moore had a good season for Hartford last season but that was after struggling in his rookie professional season.

Take the money Greg and concentrate on becoming an NHL player first then worry about the money once you are established.

I hate this blogger. I saved my password using 1 Password and it put in a post from last summer! Jessiman! Yeah, I was stupid hoping he would pan out.

Anyway, Jess- good call on Drew Shore. He is the real dealand his character is unquestioned. I can see the Rangers liking him for his attitude. Not sure if they want another player taking the same path (and about the same size/weight) as Stepan. He will definitely go to DU next year. It's been his dream since he was a little kid AND his parents want him to get an education. There are three more Shores after this (Nick's on the Under 17 team and was also just drafted by Chiliwack).